ISTITUTO VENETO DI SCIENZE, LETTERE ED ARTI RETHINKING LAYARD 1817-2017 edited by STEFANIA ERMIDORO and CECILIA RIVA in collaboration with LUCIO MILANO VENICE 2020 ISBN 978-88-92990-00-5 This volume contains the papers presented at the Conference Rethinking Layard 1817-2017 and is promoted by Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti and by Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici (Venice, 5-6 March 2018) This publication has been co-financed with the PRIN 2015 “Ebla e la Siria del Bronzo Antico: ricezione, circolazione e trasmissione di modelli culturali” project funds - Principal Investigator: Prof. Lucio Milano This volume is available in Open Access mode: https://www.istitutoveneto.org/pdf/rethinkinglayard18172017.pdf Project and editorial drafting: Ruggero Rugolo © Copyright Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti 30124 Venice - Campo S. Stefano 2945 Tel. 0412407711 - Telefax 0415210598 [email protected] - www.istitutoveneto.it CONTENTS Preface . Pag. VII Andrew R. George, Layard of Nineveh and the Tablets of Nineveh . » 3 Silvia Alaura, Austen Henry Layard and Archibald Henry Sayce: an Anatolian Perspective . » 25 John Curtis, Layard’s Relationship with F.C. Cooper and His Other Artists . » 63 Georgina Herrmann, Austen Henry Layard, Nimrud and His Ivories . » 91 Stefania Ermidoro, A Family Treasure: the Layard Collection at Newcastle University . » 115 Henrike Rost, New Perspectives on a Supranational Elite in Venice: Lady Layard’s Musical Activities and Her Autograph Book (1881-1912) . » 137 Jonathan P. Parry, Henry Layard and the British Parliament: Outsider and Expert . » 155 Maria Stella Florio, Rawdon Brown and Henry Layard in Venice . » 171 Frederick Mario Fales, Layard, Saleh, and Miner Kellogg: Three Worlds in a Single Painting . » 183 Cecilia Riva, Austen Henry Layard and His Unruly Passion for Art . » 205 Indexes . » 221 Affiliations . » 227 PREFACE Rethinking Layard 1817-2017 marked the bicentenary of the birth of the famous archaeologist and diplomat Austen Henry Layard (1817-1894). This landmark year encouraged further reflection on his reputation and the role he played within the European context of the nineteenth century. In the last decades, scholars have tackled his multifaceted interests in art, archaeology, education, politics, and diplomacy. This interdisciplinary approach was maintained in Rethinking Layard 1817-2017, a two-day conference held at Palazzo Loredan, Venice, on 5-6 March 2018. The present volume brings together contributions to the conference, which was organised by Stefania Ermidoro and Cecilia Riva, with the support of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti and Scuola Dottorale in Storia delle Arti of Ca’ Foscari University. Attention was placed upon three major themes: “Layard and archaeology” chaired by Lucio Milano (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia); “New data on Layard” presided over by Jaynie Anderson (University of Melbourne); and “Politics, diplomacy, and art” moderated by Emanuele Pellegrini (IMT Lucca). To complement the papers addressed in the Sala delle Adunanze of Palazzo Loredan, a visit to Ca’ Cappello Layard was arranged to see the palace where Layard and his wife Enid lived from 1880 to 1912. Drawing on the conference Austen Henry Layard tra l’Oriente e Venezia organised by F.M. Fales and B.J. Hickey in 1983, the present studies are intended to expand and cross-relate new, unpublished materials about Layard and his activities, relationships, influences, achievements, and long-term legacy in London and Venice. New research into the career of Layard, his networks of expert contacts and colleagues, prompted the publication of these contributions. A first series of papers stresses the role Layard played as a pioneer and supporter of archaeological studies and revives his legacy. Not only did Layard establish the foundations of Assyriology, as Andrew George argues, but he also contributed to the pre-classical archaeology of Anatolia, as VIII PREFACE Silvia Alaura outlines in her essay on the exchange of expertise between Layard and Archibald Henry Sayce. John Curtis addresses Layard’s relationship with the artists who accompanied him on the excavations in Nimrud and Nineveh, whose illustrations contributed to a more precise contextualization of Layard’s discoveries, as well as to a better understanding of Assyrian art among scholars and the public. Mario F. Fales explains how Assyrian discoveries reached America, by analysing the idealised Orientalist portrait Miner K. Kellogg painted of Layard. Drawing back from the function of these visual representations of Assyria and the Orient in general, Georgina Herrmann offers a close examination of some of the Syro-Phoenician and Egyptianizing ivories discovered by Layard, kept at the British Museum. Having delved into the Layard’s family archive that was recently deposited to the Philip Robinson Library at Newcastle University, Stefania Ermidoro presents Layard from a new and more intimate perspective. Being a repository of personal memories and working materials, the archive furnishes a point of access to Layard’s varied interests and activities, as well as to those of his wife, Lady Enid Layard, née Guest. Henrike Rost directs her attention to Lady Layard’s autograph album and the musical evenings organised at Ca’ Cappello Layard, which gives a fascinating insight into the couple’s social circle. Among the activities the Layards pursued in Venice was their investment in Murano glass-making, which Rosa Barovier Mentasti described at the conference; her presentation can be seen on the Istituto Veneto’s Youtube channel. The Venetian context of the mid-nineteenth century onwards is explored by Maria Stella Florio. She shifts the emphasis away from the Layards by introducing another illustrious Anglo-Venetian, albeit of the previous generation, Rawdon Brown. The comparison between these two personalities and their approach to Venice and its institutions is complemented by Cecilia Riva’s essay, in which Layard’s collecting activity and networks are explored. She focuses particularly on the British diplomatic corps in Venice and its role in the art market. Indeed, Layard’s lifelong ambition since his first journey to Constantinople was to be a diplomat of the top rank, a status he partly achieved. Johnathan Parry points out how his diplomatic ambitions also guided his parliamentary career, while shedding new light on one of the least-known aspects of Layard’s life. PREFACE IX The sheer variety and breadth of the essays, as well as their cross- relation in content, contribute to a rich and complex picture of Layard. Rethinking Layard 1817-2017 drew attention to Layard’s involvement in the many public institutions in which he took part, both in London and in Venice. In particular, the contributors shed light on Layard’s activities as a collector and contributor to various museums and private collections. Finally, Layard’s ongoing legacy elicits much attention, especially in the fields of archaeology, art market issues, glass studies, and history of politics. We are very grateful to all contributors for having accepted our invitation and for their lively collaboration throughout the development of this project; many thanks are equally due to those who chaired the sessions at the conference in Venice. The event benefitted from a large audience, whose enthusiastic participation enriched several fruitful discussions: we would like to thank all those who took part to the event, in particular Gianni Lanfranchi for the “Layard surprise” which he organised and which brought the audience face to face with several pieces from an Italian private collection that had been donated by Layard himself. We owe a special word of thanks to Lucio Milano, who has supported us in every way from the very beginning. We are grateful to Martina Frank for the support that we received from the Scuola Dottorale in Storia delle Arti of Ca’ Foscari University. Warm thanks are due to the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, in particular to its President Gherardo Ortalli and Chancellor Giovanna Palandri. We are also grateful to Sebastiano Pedrocco and all the other members of the staff at the Istituto, who contributed in every detail to the successful organization of the event in Venice. Ruggero Rugolo has guided this book through the publication process: to him, we are truly grateful. Venice, September 2020 Stefania Ermidoro, Cecilia Riva Photographic credits Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologises for any errors or omissions in the captions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book. RETHINKING LAYARD 1817-2017 Andrew R. George LAYARD OF NINEVEH AND THE TABLETS OF NINEVEH Abstract Layard’s discovery in 1850 of thousands of cuneiform tablets in the ruins of an Assyrian palace at Nineveh provided the foundation stone for the modern science of Assyriology. This paper considers what he found and how it came to be where he found it. Layard’s work at Nineveh Austen Henry Layard was, during an eventful life of seventy- seven years (1817-1894), many things – trainee solicitor, adventurer, archaeologist, Member of Parliament, government minister, ambassador and art historian – but he made his reputation in early Victorian England as the young man who discovered the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh. At a time when the new sciences of geology and paleontology were casting doubts on the veracity of the Biblical account of creation, people were eager for knowledge that might shed light on the Old Testament. The emergence from darkness of Assyria and its kings was proof to some of the historicity of the Bible, and gave Layard and Nineveh a prominent place in public culture. So when in 1851 the Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park, London, to celebrate the international advance of technology and science, a conspicuous feature was an Assyrian Court, where casts of a selection of Assyrian monuments that Layard had newly sent from Mesopotamia trumpeted the splendours of ancient architecture.